A Shrew's Madness
by Lyonene
Summary: Set after Breaking Dawn. After the would-be battle between the Volturi and the Cullens and their wolf allies, everything is right in the world again. Except for Leah Clearwater, who simply cannot allow the source of her bitterness to continue existing.


**A/N: Out of all the characters in the Twilight Universe, I feel for Leah the most. I don't own anything, I'm just borrowing. **

_Bella_… she was the cause for this. If she hadn't come to Forks, the Cullen's would have probably been gone by now. If the Cullen's had left, then… _this_ wouldn't have happened.

Isabella Swan, no… now she was a Cullen, was the bane of her existence.

She remembered the first time she had seen Bella, how human she had been then. Human in every flawed form. Clumsy to an extreme, pale and almost clammy looking but also rather beautiful; in a plain sort of way, if that made any sense at all.

For this mission, this personal vendetta, she hadn't bothered with appearances. Either way, no alarm would be raised, not unless Bella's husband, that leech -Edward- decided to be rude and invade her mind. Which of course, he would. He would also claim that she was 'broadcasting' loudly, but from what she had heard and observed, he liked to keep himself informed.

At the cost of another's privacy.

Fate had a sense of humor, a twisted and sick sense of humor no less. Not only had Bella Swan attracted a vampire, she had also somehow managed to twist the heartstrings of Jacob Black around her thin, pencil-like fingers.

Jacob Black who was for all intents and purposes, an un-werewolf like werewolf.

The Cullen's had done this to the Quileutes, it was their fault that the sons and daughters of the tribe had all changed. It was their fault that the recessive gene inherited from their ancestors had suddenly reemerged the way it had, destroying everything.

She had been so happy, so in love. She had been warm, and friendly, filled with joy and life. Until _It_ happened.

Billy Black figured Imprinting happened to breed stronger wolves. Sam Uley believed it had something to do with the best match possible.

Either way, it all came down to genetics. Best match possible, to make stronger wolves, to continue on the line.

Her life had been ruined. Shattered, completely irreparable.

Leah Clearwater had not only been as she was now. She had been called a 'heartless, compassionless shrew', her pack had accepted her but not truly wanted her; or the pain she couldn't help but bring with her. As if she had had a choice in joining _that pack._

_Sam's pack._

_Her Sam, no… Emily's Sam now. _

Her hands clenched into fists as the familiar pain tore through the already shredded remains of her heart. Things had gotten a little better when Jacob had broken away from Sam's pack, claimed his birthright -and all because of Bella.

How everything seemed to go back to that little beast…

Jacob pulled from Sam's authority, allowing his own inner Alpha to emerge and separated the pack. All to save Mrs. Edward Cullen, who had made it quite clear she would never love Jacob in quite the same way he did her.

Leah had understood it then. She had sympathized with Jacob's pain. He was trying to protect a woman who was already in love, with Jacob's mortal enemy no less.

But then, then he had fallen in love with the Cullen's spawn, that half-breed Renesmee, or Nessie, whichever.

The packs had united alongside the leeches to fight off some other leeches and won, everything apparently had been righted in the world once more.

Except for her.

All of Jacob's words about running solo, about them being a two person pack -though it had been her suggestion, he had seemed to take to it so well- had vanished the moment he had Imprinted on that_ thing_. Now she would never be away from it. From the vampires, from Jacob's sickening infatuation with that spawn or from Sam; it would all be in her head!

Just thinking of Sam, even in passing, made the hole in her chest feel like it had been filled with acid; causing her to physically come to a halt and place a hand over where her heart had been.

_Everything came back to Sam._

They had been in love, he had changed thanks to the Cullens, Imprinted on her cousin Emily, end of fairytale. Then others started changing, the hidden wolf gene emerging thanks to the local bloodsuckers, and the others had started Imprinting.

Not her though, never her.

When Jake had split, she had gone over to his 'pack', partly to be with her brother Seth, and partly because it got her away from Sam. Sam who felt terrible about how things between them had wound up but also… a bit annoyed with her presence, her physical being a constant reminder of what he had done to her.

Now, because of Jake's stupid Imprinting with that spawn, Nessie her mind supplied mockingly, the packs were once more on speaking terms, separate still as there couldn't be two Alphas in a pack, but the loving, hairy family scene was back on.

Which left her out in the cold again.

Jake would now stay near the Cullen family, indeed he was all but part of their happy little family.

She snorted.

And chances were, she would never move past this cycle, she would always be 'frozen' as she was, never changing, never moving forward if she were part of the pack. She had no idea how it really worked, she should have probably asked the Elders but…

It was much too late for that.

The familiar house was in view, she knew that Bella's husband could read minds and she sought to clear hers. She also knew the sister-in-law had visions, but when it came to the wolves, she saw blank spots. That made Leah smile.

_It was all Bella's fault._

_If only Bella had never come…_

_If only she had stayed away…_

If only she didn't have to have not one, but two men lusting after her, that's what had caused all this.

First Bella, then Edward and she'd save Jacob for last.

Jacob who had known better. He had known She would never pick him over her blood drinker, but that hadn't stopped him from wanting Her, from fighting for Her, for lying to Leah because of Her.

She knew she would probably only have her shot at Bella and then the rest of them would take her out, that was fine, she'd have company in Hell.

Leah dropped to all fours, a cruel smile on her harsh face.

**~!~**

If Edward had been paying attention he would have realized what was going to happen before it happened. As it was, he had been distracted, by Bella, as usual. They had been working on her Shield, on her drawing it back in order for him to hear her thoughts.

If they hadn't been doing that…

As it was, the scent of wet dog made his nose wrinkle and he spun around; watching as Leah approached.

By the time she was leaping through the air, he had realized what she was going to do.

He lunged for her.

Too late.

**~!~**

If Leah had been able to laugh through her torn throat, she would have. She was being systematically dismantled by the insane with grief and fury husband of Bella Cullen, but that was alright.

As it was, she no longer felt anything, he was moving too fast for her healing factor to really kick in and that was okay with her. She didn't want to be healed anyway, she had a date in Hell to keep. She had every intention of tormenting Her in Hell for the rest of eternity.

Over the sounds of her own flesh and bone being ripped from each other, she heard the doctor's voice, Carlisle.

"She's fine, Edward, she'll heal."

They had to be dismembered and then burnt, Leah could have cried when she remembered that fact a little too late. Instead, she tried to focus her one remaining eye on Bella, her muzzle curling back over blood stained teeth when She approached with the help of Edward, who had seemed to forget all about the dying Leah now that his mate was apparently going to live.

She couldn't talk, but… Leah focused all her thoughts towards Edward; feeling a detached sort of amusement when he flinched under the mental barrage of her pain; the onslaught of her thoughts catching him off guard.

When it seemed like he might shed a human tear, she closed her eyes. She wasn't going to die with the vision of a pitying vampire as her last vision.

Instead, she thought of Sam…


End file.
